Agriculture & forestry energy consumption stable in 2021

The amount of energy used (known as energy consumption) directly by the agriculture and forestry sector in the EU was equivalent to 28.3 million tonnes of oil in 2021. This quantity was relatively unchanged (-0.3%) from that used in 2020.

This was in stark contrast to total energy consumption, which rebounded (+6.2%) from the Covid-impacted level of 2020. The agriculture and forestry sector accounted for 3% of the total energy consumed in the EU in 2021. 

Source dataset: nrg_bal_s

All EU countries recorded increases in total energy consumption in 2021 compared with 2020. The sharpest rates were in Italy (+9.8%), Slovakia (+9.3%) and France (+9.1%).

Within the agriculture and forestry sector, there were considerable contrasts between EU countries. Direct energy consumption levels in 2021 were lower than 2020 in nine EU countries, the steepest rates of decline were recorded for Estonia (-19.4%), Latvia (-6.5%) and Hungary (-5.3%). By contrast, levels were at least 5% higher than in 2020 in Greece (+7.5%), Lithuania (+7.1%), Romania (+6.8%), Malta (+6.3%), Austria (+5.8) and Portugal (+5.5%)

Almost three quarters of the energy consumed directly by the EU’s agriculture and forestry sector was used by six countries: France (4.2 million tonnes; 14.8%), the Netherlands (4.0 million tonnes; 14.0%), Poland (3.7 million tonnes; 13.2%), Germany (3.6 million tonnes; 12.7%), Italy and Spain (approximately 2.8 million tonnes each; 9.9% Italy and 9.8% Spain).